


Parental Burials

by Nocticola



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: 1x9 As You Were, 2x2 Fear and Loathing, 2x3 Love Machine, Canonical Character Death, Child Abandonment, Duke's backstory, Episode: s01e02 Butterfly, Episode: s01e13 Spiral, Episode: s02e01 A Tale of Two Audreys, Episode: s02e04 Sparks and Recreation, Episode: s02e07 The Ties That Blind, Episode: s02e10 Who What Where Wendigo, Episode: s02e12 Sins of the Fathers, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Nathan's backstory, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Pre-Canon, all these actual orphans, all those dead parents, i wanna deal with that, that's the point of this fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2018-11-30 07:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11459103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nocticola/pseuds/Nocticola
Summary: Ch. 1 Duke & SimonCh 2 Nathan & ElizabethCh. 3 Julia & EleanorCh. 4 Nathan & MaxCh. 5 Nathan & GarlandCh. 6 Chris and Ricard Brody(new)Ch. 7 Hannah Driscoll and her parentsCh. 8 Resurrected Fathers: GarlandCh. 9 Resurrected Fathers: SimonCh. 10 The MasonsCh. 11 Audrey & Charlotte





	1. Duke and Simon

**Author's Note:**

> Fic Art: https://demisexualnathanvuornos.tumblr.com/tagged/parental-burials

Duke knows he’s not reacting to this the way he should. ‘This’ being the death of his father. But the truth is, he’s been expecting it since the first time Simon came home bloody and frantic. Duke knows there are things going on that no one will explain to him. Freaky things are going on in this town, and his dad, and Lucy and a bunch of other adults are in on it, but apparently Duke doesn’t need to know what it is. All anyone will tell him is that he needs to stay away from freaks like Nathan Wuornos. Lucky for Duke, apparently ‘bullying’ does not violate the ‘stay away’ mandate. He’s gotten quite a bit of amusement from ‘Nate’s no-feeling thing.

Anyway, his reaction. He’s actually not that sad. Sure, Simon was his father. Since his mother left years ago, the times Simon’s been around are the only times Duke has had certain…well, certainties. Of course, Simon brought his own types of dangers, but at least he usually had a food supply at home when his dad was around. That helped dealing with the other stuff. 

The State wants to declare him an orphan. It also wants him to talk to some shrinks about seeing his father fall into the sea. He quite likes the idea of the former. Pirates are usually orphans, and maybe he will get into a home that’s at least tolerable enough to sleep in. He’s very *not* keen on the latter. His dad is gone, but he’s OK with it. He doesn’t need to talk about it with anyone. Sure, he can fake being more upset than he really is, if he has to. But it just feels like too much hassle. He’s coping fine with the loss. 

He’s father was a bastard, who did some shady and shitty things, to strangers and family, and Duke won’t mourn him much. The only thing he might miss was his brothers, but he never really got to know any of them. He’s not even sure how many he has. He knows Wade is older than he is, but he hasn’t been around since they saw Nate broke his arm sledding. For some reason that was too much for Wade apparently. He knows he should feel worse about losing his father, but he doesn’t, so he’s just gonna embrace that. Why create problems when he has none? His father is gone, and he doesn’t really have any other family. (He certainly hopes his mother won’t make a reappearance) He’s fine without family. He doesn’t feel like he’s had one for a long time, the State might as well make it official, finally. He knows how to survive and cope. He wishes the State would just let him go on with it, already.


	2. Nathan and Elizabeth

Nathan Wuornos knows what it's like to be numb. But the numbness he used to feel because of idiopathic neuropathy is nothing compared to the numbness he feels now, at his mother's funeral and wake.

He knows he should cry. He wants to cry. Twelve is not too old to cry, not when your mother has just died. But he can't. He can't feel anything (emotionally) right now. His mother was amazing and she deserves his tears. But he can't. He can feel the looks most people are giving his way. Waiting for him to break. But he won't. It's too public. He feels exposed. He guesses that's the point.

His memory has huge gabs now. He doesn't remember his mother's illness. It felt long but he knows in reality she died soon after he was told about it. He doesn't remember her death (but he knows he was there and he wants that memory)(please give it back). He doesn't remember the ceremony. Who said what, who brought what flowers. Who gave their condolences at the ceremony and who is still gathering their courage to talk to the half-orphan statue-esque (silent and unmoving) 12 year old (his father doesn't look at him now, hasn't for days). He doesn't care. It doesn't matter how much they share his pain when he can't even process it. It doesn't help. 

No one's talking to him. It's fine. He can't really hear people right now anyway. He feels like the grief that he can't properly express is drowning him and he can't see or hear because he's under water. Drowning. (It feels familiar in a way it really *shouldn't*)(if his father acknowledged him he would ask him if he has ever almost drowned)(but his father doesn't, so he won't)(maybe he wouldn't ask anyway)

He is sitting alone on the couch at their...house (it's not a home anymore). People move around and talk and live and and and... Nathan wants to hide, but he's not allowed. He needs to be here to share his grief and listen others share theirs but he doesn't want to see it and he can't really hear it. He wants his mother. He would probably settle for his father looking at him. 

He can feel the dip in the couch. Natural curiosity makes him look. It's Hannah Driscoll. Nathan doesn't know what to do. They are in the same grade, and she's mostly nice but they don't really talk. Nathan doesn't really talk with people. Hannah extends her hand to him. "Hey." He looks at her face and her hand again. Before making a decision, he finds his father amongst the crowd. He's not looking at Nathan. So, he takes Hannah's hand and lets her lead.

That doesn't work for long, because Hannah doesn't know where his room is. So he takes her there and they sit on his bed. They're not holding hands anymore.  
"Do you have a picture of your Mom here?" Hannah asks. She sounds almost like those shrinks the school (and his father) is trying to get him to talk to. Nathan remembers 'why' just before Hannah continues "I've been through this. It's OK. I can help you." She sounds nice and genuine. He takes the picture he hides under his pillow. It's from before she got sick, around the time Nathan's condition went away. She's happy and smiley. It's Nathan's favorite picture. Hannah puts her hand on his.  
"You don't have to cry for them. This is about you and her. It's OK."  
Nathan looks at Hannah. She is smiling an encouraging half-smile for him. She is right. Since she died, since it became official, he's felt like everyone wants and expects him to break, not for his mother, not for himself, but as part of The Grieving Process. Hannah squeezes his hand, while he looks at the picture of his mother. People tell him that he looks like her. 

And then he is crying, and Hannah is hugging him and comforting him. Nathan doesn't know why Hannah did it. But he will forever be grateful for her comfort.

***

His father finds them like this 10 minutes later. He doesn't interrupt or disturb them. He suspects that the Driscoll girl is here without permission. He will end the memorial soon and give the girl a ride home afterwards as a thank you. He doesn't know how to talk to Nathan yet. He's glad there was somebody to give Nathan at least this.  
He doesn't know how to look at Nathan without seeing Elizabeth (or occasionally Max) looking back at him. He can never decide whether seeing his Beth in Nate is a blessing or a curse, given what he knows he must train Nathan to endure.(In his heart, he knows it's both) He wishes things could be different, but they aren't, and wishes are useless anyway. So now, the Wuornos men just have to survive. They are good at that.


	3. Julia and Eleanor Carr

Julia's never really known how to behave at a funeral. It's awkward and uncomfortable. Concentrated grief makes her feel uneasy. Being at the center of it only makes it worse. The wine helps, marginally.

Nathan comes up to Julia to give her a hug. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Your Mom always tried to take care of me."

Julia accepts the hug, more grateful than she would have expected. "You're still here, so I guess she did do a decent-ish job," she quips. It sounds wrong, but she doesn't know how to begin to process things yet. She supposes the shock is still there.  
"Yeah," Nathan almost sighs.  
She misses her mother, there is an ache within her, but it also feels like the reality hasn't quite sank in yet. Duke has helped as a shoulder to cry on but given his fucked up parents, Duke doesn't quite understand the precise complexity of her feelings. 

Nathan stays next to her after the hugs is done, waiting by her, for her to speak. Nathan is terrible at feelings usually, but he's a good listerner and he gets the loss of a parent. And she knows he gets *this*. Julia finishes her wine. She's lost count of how many glasses she's had. Suddenly she can't hold it in anymore. 

"God, Haven parents. When you’re a kid they treat you like a small adult, but when you’re an adult, they treat you like a big kid, you know? They never know how to treat you as your actual age. Just because all this crazy shit is going on. It's why I left. It's why I shouldn't have come back."

She's aware that she sounds ranty, which only partially because of the wine. She would only talk to someone like Nathan about this. She knows he gets it because he just nods in silent agreement. Given what Julia has seen of Garland and Nathan since being back, their dynamic fits the bill. Of course there are Haven families with similar dynamics, but people like Nathan and her, they get it extra because they have Roles to Play, in all of this fucked up mess, according to their parents. Sure, Duke has some of that, but the Crockers are always question marks loyalty wise, and often die young enough to leave behind not much more than a plead of 'avenge me!' to their offspring. She's sure that, if she asked, Simon is the reason Duke came back to this godforsaken place. 

She knows she only came back for her mother. She briefly wonders whether her mother would be dead if she had stayed away. Would she had died anyway, and at least now she had a chance to tell her she loved her one last time? (She did tell her, didn't she? She can't quite remember, which is the worst)

She laughs humorlessly, "I'm still gonna miss her a lot. She frustrated the hell out of me and didn't care about the details of my life but... I can't wrap my head around her being gone."

Nathan is still standing next to her and nods at her words. She's not sure whether he's waiting for a permission to leave, or whether this is just Nathan being supportive. She comes to the conclusion that it's both. She asks him to get her another glass of wine, which he does. She looks at his retreating back, thankful for being left alone for the moment.  
Unfortunately, that lets her get back to her ranty thoughts about this damn town. If her mother had got her way, she wouldn't have left Maine for college. She would have followed in her footsteps without hesitation. But she wanted out, she rebelled (as much of a rebellion one considers Doctors Without Borders to be, anyway) and she didn't want to come back. But right now, she suspects that she might have to. Haven is down a coroner, and with the Troubles back, they can't afford outsiders. 

Nathan comes back with her wine and she gives him a grateful smile and takes a decent gulp of it. She has too much grief left to get through to waste time by savoring the wine.  
Nathan puts his hand on her shoulder, squeezes it a little in a comforting gesture and it reminds Julia of the first time she remembers meeting Nathan. She remembers one time (but she's sure there were others) when Elizabeth, Nathan's mom, called her mom for help, who was hurt and how she doesn't quite remember, and she took Julia with her. Probably because of a lack of a babysitter. As things got fixed, she stayed with Nathan. She squeezed his shoulder just like he does now. Maybe her mom was trying to show her the ropes. Even though at the time, she was too young to understand what the ropes were even supposed to be. She sighs. In the end, Haven parents seem to get their way. She's a doctor, Nathan's a cop, Duke's a pirate. They all grow up to be who their parents wanted them to be, no matter how they might have fought against it. 

Julia gives Nathan another tiny grateful smile, which Nathan returns. She understands the importance of the gesture. Nathan's Trouble makes him reluctant to touch people, so she appreciates him doing it for her.  
Then he turns a bit, his eyes finding Audrey. Nathan definitely has a thing for her. It's odd but nice to see. As Audrey approaches, Nathan moves away from Julia. The next comforter is here, it seems. Audrey notices Nathan and sends him a tiny smile before concentrating on Julia. Julia sees that there is genuine grief in Audrey's eyes before she is engulfed in a hug by Audrey.

It's awkward. Really meeting someone for a first time at a funeral. Audrey doesn't seem like the hugging type much. But one of the reasons she came back was her mother telling her about Audrey. There might have been some surrogate daughter feelings there. Julia had hoped it meant her mother would have been better able to see her as an adult but no such luck.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Your mother really tried to help me become a local. I'd like to get to know you properly. I'm here if you want to talk." 

"Thank you." 

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see that the Teagues are staying away from here, giving her space, for now. She knows they're going to ask her to stay. 'Just for a little bit', right. She shakes her head a bit in frustration. Mostly she just wants to leave this place and never come back. But she knows she has a duty. She gives Audrey a little smile.  
"I will have to stay at least a few days to get things in order. We could finally drink that margarita mix."  
"I'd like that." And at that, Audrey leaves. Julia supposes that if Audrey hadn't just spent her birthday locked in a trunk, this would be different. As it is, Audrey's barely met or heard of her. She would like to get to know Audrey a little bit more, though. It's nice that that sentiment seems mutual. 

Last but not least, Duke arrives. She's not quite sure how she wants to handle this. She's been crying on him since it happened. She's been drinking. She feels like shit in many ways. But Duke comes with more wine, so she'll allow his presence, for now. Duke hugs her without saying a word. Afterwards they stand next to each other, just watching the guest. She spies Garland making eye contact with Nathan who subconscienciously rubs the back of his neck.

Julia shakes her head. This town and everyone on it is such a fucked up mess. Now Garland makes eye contact with Julia, giving her a sympathetic nod but he doesn't make his way to her. She's glad.

Duke only leaves her side to get her more wine. However, it's doing it's job so she doesn't have to drink it quite as quickly now. She's calm and all the condolences are not getting to her so much that she would break down here. She knows her mother was a good person and everyone keeps sincerely telling her that. Julia just wishes she's been a good mother, too. 

After the wake is finally over, Duke takes her home. They sit on a couch and Julia cries the first time that day on his shoulder. She cries until she falls asleep and wakes up the next day with a blanket covering her on the couch and a glass of water by an aspirin on the table. She takes it gratefully and then goes back to sleep. She needs a day of rest before facing Haven without her mother in it.


	4. Nathan and Max

How is he supposed to start dealing with any this?

Within the past few hours, Nathan has learned that he is adopted; that his biological father is a convicted murderer; who shares his Trouble; who might connect him to relatives Nathan didn't previously know about (where are the other Hansens? Why did none of the care for him over the years?); who might be the reason for some of Nathan's childhood nightmares.

(It also means that Nathan's mother lied to him. He thinks that might be what hurts the most.) 

No one ever told him. Nathan has barely left Maine his whole life, he's known most of the town from birth, some of them still consider him 'little Nate' and no one ever bothered to tell him the truth about himself.

As far as Nathan knows, he met him once. In hindsight, the man's words and behavior (and touches) read differently. He wanted to see how Nathan ended up. He liked what he saw. (How is he supposed to take that?)  
He tested Nathan's Trouble and Nathan threatened to shoot him. Because Nathan might not have known who he really was but everyone in Haven knew Max Hansen, and what he did.  
(The Colorado Kid murder and the Hansen killing that family where the 2 cases the town could gossip about without outright envoking the Troubles.)  
The man might have been in league with the Rev, although Nathan doesn't understand *how*, considering how the Rev deals with him.  
The meeting left Nathan no desire to ever interact with the man again. Finding out the truth didn't change that. 

And now the man, Max Hansen, is dead, by those mysterious, ever-present cracks. Nathan needs to figure out that Trouble, finally. So he can solve who killed his... biological father. That's what he is...was. Nothing else. Genetic matter. (Does he have to go to any memorial service? He is probably the next of kin. Does he want to? He has to ignore those questions for now.)  
Nathan doesn't remember Max, and he had no intension of developing a relationship with him between finding out about the relation and getting the call about his death.  
But the death is suspicious, and Trouble related, so he needs to deal with it. He's a cop, now, not a confused child.

***

They figure out the cracks. The cracks are the (real) Wuornos Trouble. Garland Wuornos, the Chief, killed Max Hansen. Nathan's father killed his father. (On purpose? By accident? Will he have to arrest his own father?) They need to find him, now.

How the fuck is Nathan supposed to start dealing with that?


	5. Nathan and Garland

Finding out he’s adopted, that *Max Hansen* is his biological father, he doesn’t really know how to deal with it. He’s not at all surprised his fa-, the Chief would keep things from him, even things as big as this. Realizing the cracks are Garland’s Trouble, that he is responsible for Max Hansen’s death, so many things start to make sense. Why he kept Nathan’s parentage secret. Why he let Nathan wallow in denial about the Troubles for years. Breaking Nathan’s denial would have required honesty from Garland. About where he got his Trouble from. About Garland’s own. About Nathan’s childhood. Nathan would have preferred painful honesty to the ugly mess their relationship ended up being.  


He would like to wallow some more in the pain of betrayal and lies and secrets, but Audrey doesn’t let him. He knows he doesn’t really have time for it, but I wants it anyway. He doesn’t wanna forgive him yet. Audrey doesn’t have parents, so she doesn’t really get it. But he knows he needs to find him, to hear what he has to say.  


***  


They find him on the beach, and Garland finally tells Nathan he’s a good cop. He’s spent months, years telling Nathan he’s not good enough. He can’t call him any paternal terms right now. Maybe he should, but he can’t. He’s gotten so used to calling him Chief, of treating him as a boss and not as a father. Finding out there is no biological connection between them makes the distinction clearer in his head. He’s not ready to bridge it yet.  


He tries to be as much of a cop as he can, in that moment. ‘Don’t think of it as your biological father being killed by your adopted dad, think of it as finding a suspect in a case that has nothing at all to do with you.’ It doesn’t really help. “There was evil in that man,” Garland tells you [‘there’s evil in you’ is left unsaid].  


Seeing the gun on Garland’s hand and his words, he doesn’t wanna understand what it all means. Garland calls him out on that, of course he does, but Nathan doesn’t wanna give up. Audrey’s here, Audrey should be able to *do* something, to *fix* this. She’s fixing him, she should be able to fix this. But she doesn’t. Nathan doesn’t understand *why*, he doesn’t want to understand, he just wants this situation to end. He wants the opportunity to fix things with Garland. He doesn’t want to lose his—  
“Dad.”  
“I love you, son.”  


And then everything explodes, and Nathan doesn’t know what to do anymore.  


***  


In some ways, he thinks he shuts down, after… After. Everything is just too much. He lets the sounds of the ocean to drown out everything else in his head. He can’t really think about anything, can’t really do anything. Until Audrey. She tries to be there for him, but he doesn’t want it. Everything is too much and Audrey… Everything with Audrey makes it worse. She didn’t even *try* to help dad, his dad is *gone* and he doesn’t wanna deal with anything else. So, he pushes her away. He closes in on himself, and cries. He hopes the sounds of the waves hide his weakness.  


***  


***  
Finding his dad’s badge in the sand, all of it is starting to hit him. The reality of it. His father is gone. (Somehow, it’s easier to consider him ‘father’, now) He left Nathan a legacy he never bothered to really explain. Nathan doesn’t know what he’s doing next. He makes his way again to the station, to his father’s office. He finds the Rev there, another in a long line of people who know about his parentage. Tries to manipulate Nathan into accepting biology over a complicated history. He would never. His dad was Troubled. They shared that status even though they didn’t share a affliction. 

***

He needs to find Audrey again. He needs to fix things between them. He shouldn’t have blamed her like that. His father was a stubborn old man, and nothing Audrey said could have fixed things. He knows that. He needs to accept his new role, and he needs Audrey’s help to do it. Even though he can’t feel it, holding his father’s badge helps.

***[2x1]

Accepting the situation emotionally is harder than he thought. The Trouble of the day, the 10 fucking plagues, takes so much time and effort that he can ignore the cooler in his trunk which contains his father’s remains. It’s not the healthiest behavior, but he doesn’t have time to really deal with that. He actually prefers that. Saying it out loud for the first time, telling Duke, fake!Audrey, doesn’t really help the situation. It's not the right time to talk about it, but he has to. The 10th plague, death of first born sons, also leaves him feeling unsettled. He needs to know Audrey will deal with his father in case the worst happens. Until yesterday, he thought he knew who he was, Nathan Thaddeus, the only son of Garland and Elizabeth Wuornos, but now he doesn’t know which parts of that are true. Does he have siblings? Why Thaddeus? His identity feels influx and possibility of dying doesn’t help it.

***

Finally, he has a moment to breathe after the Trouble has been handled. Now he needs to deal with his father. ‘Lost at sea’ seems like the kind of end Garland would want for himself.  
Deal with the legacy he left Nathan. He’s not sure he wants to be chief. He knows it’s what he needs to do right now. For Haven and the Troubled. To be the man his father wanted him to be.

***

He hasn’t really had time to mourn yet. Garland Wuornos was never one for emotional displays, so he hopes he doesn’t disappoint his father too much for letting a few tears fall while he’s digging his grave. That should be allowed. 

Finding a mysterious ring from among his father’s remains is odd and he's not sure what to make of it. He doesn't remember ever seeing it, but it must have been on Garland when he died. He decides to keep it, hold it close. He likes the idea of having something of his father around.

The first night, he wraps the chain around his hand, staring at it, contemplating it and quietly cries himself to sleep.

***[2x2]

Making his father's dead a drowning makes a lot of things simple. No one is asking about a body or further proof of his demise. A lot people come up to him giving their condolences, telling how sorry they are and how fond they were of him. Nathan appreciates that, but is not completely sure how to take it all. His relationship with Garland stayed complicated and painful until the end. For so long he was more a boss than a parent, and it's hard to let go of that, even with him gone. It feels like he knew a very different man than most of Haven.

He hates public speaking and being at the center of attention. He hated it when his mother died and he hates it now. He’s glad Audrey’s there in the audience, though. Concentrating on her helps a bit. Her quip about his speaking skills is also weirdly welcome.

The Grey Gull is decorated with white roses for the wake, and after his feeling temporary returns, he keeps touching the roses he took from there. The whole experience is very conflicting. He kinda wishes his father could have seen him like that, normal.

***[2x3-2x4]

Calling himself the Chief for the first time to Jimmy Halsey, wearing his father’s mystery ring around his neck and his old watch on his wrist (and when it breaks, he still keeps it on his nightstand next to the ring on a chain), deciding how he wants to be Chief and whether that will include Hot Stove meetings or not, he feels more connected to his father than he did in years when he was still alive.

When Dwight, his father’s ‘cleaner’, tells Nathan he reminds him of Garland as they watch Haven’s most important baseball game of the year, Nathan realizes how much easier it is to be Garland Wuornos's son now, without Garland. To live with the image and not the man. Both are difficult and painful, and now he does wish he had made things right with his father (but 30 years of pain and neglect are hard to shake), but he can finally make his own choices without worrying disappointing his father. He gets to make his own choices, live up to his father or not, but the choices are his own. He will have to learn to live with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking a break from writing this. The next chapters are set in s4 and s5, so it will take me a bit to rewatch for those chapters.


	6. Chris Brody & Mayor Richard Brody

Sometimes, it's difficult to love a man who doesn't have to *do* anything to be loved, who just *is* loved. Chris always had a certain immunity to his family's Trouble. He loved his father as the flawed, but decent enough man that he was, just not in the way everyone else in this town did, with every single one of them adoring all the words that came out of Richard Brody's mouth. Maybe that was one of the problems in their relationship. Chris needed more than charm. He needed a father.

He sometimes wondered whether someone non-Brody can become numb to their charm, eventually. After prolonged exposure. One of the reasons he was never really comfortable with his stepmother was that he was never sure how true her feelings are, how real they really even could be. When you don't know what feeling is real and which isn't, it becomes hard to trust them. Of course, he doesn't even know whether his own mother loved his father, for real. Chris found it better to not think about that too hard. 

He did have some good times with his father. They both loved the ocean. Chris eventually dedicated his life to it. That tells his father that he loves him, right? 

Chris wishes they hadn't argued right before his father died. Not just because it made him a suspect. And not because his father's death triggered his Trouble, which ends up being one of the worst things to ever happen to him. Even though it's good for getting grants. The real reason is, naturally, he didn't want his father to die. He wanted to make things right between them before it was all over. Their relationship was sometimes strained, but it wasn't impossible to deal with. They could have fixed things easily. It's sad that they never will, now. 

He didn't want to find out all the ways his father failed as a human being. He was always a cheater, and maybe he did misuse his Trouble, not just to wow his constituents by his mere existence, but also to take advantage of people and their love for him. The thought of that makes Chris uncomfortable. Chris doesn't want to become like that. 

That's why he is happy to meet Audrey Parker. She isn't phased by his Trouble. Doesn't even seem to realize it's there and should affect her, not like it affects her partner, Nathan Wuornos, another Haven legacy. He can never misuse his Trouble on her because she's immune. He likes that reassurance. So, she calls him a jerk and he asks her out for drinks and plankton watching at his father's wake, and while it might seem insensitive, he thinks his father would approve. (Although he's not sure whether to take that really as an endorsement.) Maybe, somethings, some *feelings*, might be real.


	7. Burial and a Resurrection: Hannah Driscoll's parents

Hannah was 7 years old when her mother left her father, running away with a deacon from her father's church. She died 3 days later in a car crash. Hannah was never quite sure whether she would've wanted her mother to take her too. Maybe she would've died in that car crash, which she didn't want, of course. But being left with her father, with all of his anger and impotent rage… maybe she would've been better off.

Of course, most people in Haven only heard about the car crash. She wasn't a girl who's mother abandoned her for her own happiness. She was a girl with a dead mother and an angry, griefing father. She might like that version better. It's one of the reasons she ends up connecting with Nathan Wuornos in high school. Motherless teenagers with difficult, emotionally absent fathers. He was actually her teenage rebellion. Her Troubled outsider. She's not quite sure Nathan really knew that, though. 

***

Choosing Bobby over her father ends up being an easier decision than she would have thought. Motherhood suited her, and connecting with Bobby was easy. Her father never forgave her for that. She hoped she could have somehow curbed his anger against the Troubled, for Bobby and for Haven, but there was nothing she could do, in the end. He disowned his own daughter over the Troubles. He was a lost cause. 

Still, hearing he has died, it's painful. She is sad to find out how low he was willing to go. Trying to kill a child. It should have been an unfathomable thought, but it isn't. Hannah is uncomfortable with the people who showed up for her father. All that hatred and vengence-seeking. It's sad what fear and ignorance does to people. 

As she and Bobby are leaving the cemetary, she can see Kyle Hopkins begin to fill up her father's grave. Kyle looks at Bobby like he's an abomination, and Hannah holds him closer to herself. She knows she did the right thing, leaving Haven with Bobby. It's not safe here for him. 

Nathan and Audrey wait by her car. Nathan hugs her, gives her condolences and she can sense a hint of genuineness in his words. He's not sad the Rev is dead, but he is sad for Hannah. She can live with that distinction. She is somewhat surprised to see the changes in Nathan. She didn't make it to Garland's wake but Nathan seems to be living up to his new responsibilities as Chief. She's glad. 

Audrey looks at her awkwardly. Hannah pulls her into a hug, to show Audrey she understands her actions. She whispers in Audrey's ear that she understands why she did it. That what she did was rigt. Bobby also gets hugs. 

For a few moments they share funereal smalltalk, but after a few minutes of that, Audrey tells her there is someone who wants to meet her. Hannah is surprised. Who could it be? 

A woman in her 60s appears. There is a familiarity she can't quite grasp immediately. 

“Hannah,” she says and then she knows. Her mother. Penny Driscoll. 

“Mom?” She starts walking towards her and soon they are embracing each other. 

“I'm sorry for leaving you, baby girl.” 

Hannah doesn't know what to say, yet. She just got her mother back. She can deal with the whys and hows and her abandoment issues later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update today! Not sure when I get to finishing the last chapters.


	8. Resurrected Fathers 1: Garland Wuornos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you reading as this is being published, yeah, the Garland chapters are back-to-back right now. It's kinda fitting. Eventually there will be two chapters in between them, dealing with a couple of other characters but I haven't managed to write them yet, so here we are.
> 
> If you are reading this after this is done, hello! I am terrible at writing things in order if there is no proper plot reason for it.

Nathan's not sure he's breathing properly. Because... Because his *father* is right there. Yet he can't be. Nathan buried him on Goose Hill. The Trouble is Kyle Hopkins', so what is the Chief doing here? He doesn't know what to say. There have been times he's missed his father, thought about all the things he would like to say to him. But now, his mind is blank. Audrey encourages him, but Duke isn't very keen. Not a surprise, considering what he told about his own paternal visit, and there was never any love lost between Garland and Duke. But... But he's going to do it. He has no idea what he'll do or say. But like Audrey said, it's a gift. Weird, painful, gift but gift nonetheless. Sometimes living in Haven is OK. 

Death hasn't changed the Chief at all. He looks the same, better even, than on that day at the beach when he blew up because he couldn't hold on. His personality hasn't changed at all too. Instead of talking of anything of substance, he decides to talk about *rain* (Nathan does know what it's like to miss the feeling of rain on his face) and the damn cooler he was buried in (ignoring Nathan's grief, as always). And, naturally, they're arguing again. They still can't last 5 minutes of conversation without one of them saying the wrong thing and the other taking offence. It's so frustrating, yet so damn familiar, he almost misses it. It's so easy to fall back into bad habits with him.

The Chief is still not really telling him anything. You'd think death and resurrection, of seeing how bad their relationship got because of secrets, would make him see that he needs to actually *tell* Nathan things, yet he doesn't. He says a lot, but explains nothing. "Don't fall in love with Audrey?" That's his big, back-from-the-dead message? It would be funny if it wasn't so damn late. Once again, he's left with more questions than answers. And his father still does not understand him.  
***

He wants to tell Audrey. But not now. Later, over pancakes for dinner (or maybe breakfast), when the dead have stopped hauting Haven again. But it's still so... raw, and he doesn't know how to tell her that his father still doesn't think he's worth muc. Not enough for Audrey, anyway.

***

Suddenly, he's a little kid again, listening in on conversations that he doesn't relly understand, sometimes about himself. He's pretty sure Duke feels the same way. Audrey must be so confused, having no idea about the conversation the previous Crocker and Wuornos are talking about. He has so many questions about the time the Troubles were here the last time. About Sarah, and Lucy. But he can only listen and watch as his father wades out of existence again.

"I have a son, too. A damn good one," Garland tells Simon Crocker, 10 seconds before he dies again, and as good as it feels to hear it (finally), it's another one of those things Garland should have told him ages ago. And everything else that is going on... he doesn't have time to think about everything he just heard. 

(He didn't tell Garland he loves him this time either. Maybe he'll get a third chance later. It's Haven after all.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, I have more season 2 stuff coming up after all, at some point. 
> 
> Simon Crocker is next, soon.


	9. Resurrected Fathers 2: Simon Crocker

Simon Crocker being back from the death is a very excellent reason to start drinking early and just not stop. It feels good to tell him off. Show Simon just how little he's been missed since he drowned 27 years ago. Duke has made his life on his own since then (except for apparently the Cape Rouge. But it's *his* now, it doesn't matter it was part of Simon's decades long post mortem con). He didn't need Simon when he was a kid, and he does not need him now. 

Because Simon Crocker was a piece of shit. Of course, Duke always knew that. He didn't have the whole picture as a kid, but all the disappearances for days, bloody returns and surprise brothers (he briefly wonders whether he has any sisters at all) told him enough even then. He knows better now as an adult. 

Turns out, his father is an actual murderer. Sure, he claims to have a reason, that he was 'saving' Troubled families from their curses, but Duke knows the rush Troubled blood gives Crockers, so he knows there is no way Simon didn't get a kick out of that. There is no way a version of Audrey had killed Simon (if she did) if Simon didn't have it coming. 

But as much as he hates his father and can't wait fro him to go back to the hell he came from, his words get stuck in his head. "Have you lost anyone because of the Troubles? You could've saved them." Could he have saved Evi? What they are dealing with the Troubles, it's never ending. Audrey will always come to Haven as someone who doesn’t know her past. Nathan will always be numb for years. It’s a never-ending cycle. Some Troubles are so horrible, they really can’t be dealt with. Is the Crocker curse an alternative? Even if it is, it’s certainly not a road Duke wants to go down on. 

But apparently, that is not something he is given a choice on. The Rev, Simon and the Chief talk about him, about Nathan, and Audrey, like they are not there, like they just some chess pieces to move around. Still no real information on anything.  
He is kinda hurt that the Chief is so, if not eager then indifferent, to have Audrey kill him, but he supposes it's fair enough. Garland has to think about Nathan. 

Simon Crocker brought Duke nothing but bad news, both as a child and as an adult, but it does sting, just a bit, to see him disappear into thin air. Maybe it’s the pride in his voice. But mostly it’s the fact that there is so much they don't understand. So much no one is telling them. Haven has so many secrets, they are drowning in them. But at least Simon talked. Told Duke things. 

But he won't be his father. He refuses to be used like that. He will make his own fate. No one else is going to force him to take their life like Kyle Hopkins. Duke's fate will be his own.


	10. The Masons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jennifer Mason's backstory (elaborated from 4x7 Lay Me Down)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More on adopted!Jennifer coming up in _Haven for God's Orphans_ fic later.

Jennifer Mason was a lucky kid. Even though she was given up for adoption by her birth parents, she was only 3 years old when she was adopted by the Masons, who were really lovely parents. Jennifer always did her best to be worthy of her good fortune, since she knows that not all kids like her find good homes. She worked hard in school and sold the most Girl Scout cookie for three consecutive years. She wanted her parents to be proud of her, and they were. She had a happy childhood which she is grateful for.

But when she was in her late teens, tragedy struck their family. Her Dad was coming home from work late at night and got into a car crash. Losing him was so painful she wasn't sure she could take it. But she still had her Mom, and together they got through it. In her grief she thought about doing something drastic, like skipping school, using something to ease the pain. But she knew how much that would hurt her Mom, so she stayed strong and together and didn't let her loss make her grades suffer.

After high school, she moved from the outskirts of Boston into the city proper, to study journalism in college. It's what she always wanted to do. She used to read the newspaper with her Dad in the morning, it was their thing. She's glad she actually had talent for it and she could continue connecting with her Dad like this. Her Mom was always so proud of her.

She graduates and gets a job and live is good. She sees her Mom as often as she can, a dinner most Fridays, sometimes they shop together in Boston. They only ahve each other, but they make due.

But when Jennifer is 25, her family grows smaller still. Her Mom gets an aggressive cancer and it doesn't take long until she is just *gone*. Jennifer is all alone again, just like she was when she was a toddler. She doesn't really know how to deal with that. She throws herself more into her work, because that's what made them proud and despite everything she thinks she is a pretty well adjusted individual. Her parents were lovely, and she lost them too soon, but because of them she has the live she now has. She's lucky. 

One day, a few years since she lost her parents, she decides to look into her birth parents. It would be nice to know them, just a little bit. Their names would help. But the documents are sealed and she cannot get access to them. Well, she didn't need them anyway. 

When Jennifer is 29, she starts hearing voices. Voices that are not her, voices talking about terrible, confusing things. She can't sleep because of the voices, so she goes to a doctor. She is given some medication, and it does seem to help. For a time, her mind goes silent. But it makes her think about her birth parents again. Is this hereditary? Is she going crazy? Could her parents explain it to her? She tries to gain access to her adoption files again, but still no go. 

'Alright. I just have to adjust to this. I can do that. I always have.' 

But it doesn't mean that she doesn't think about all her parents, the ones who loved her and the ones she came from, when she takes her daily pills. Why is she like this? She hopes to find the answer one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline confusion re: Jennifer's age: Her pre-adoption paperwork says her birthday is June 27th 1984 (Emma Lahana's actual birthday), and Vince's notes also note her as being born in '84. Yet, it 4x11 it's established that her birthday is June 12th, and considering that the date and year of 1981 was important in that episode, that she was aged up 3 years. I fix that my giving her a birthday('81) and adoption date ('84).


End file.
